


Of Two Minds

by last_system_lord



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: AU after Ark of Truth, Angst, Continuum AU, F/M, Post Ark of Truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 11:17:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4704119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/last_system_lord/pseuds/last_system_lord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The mission to catch the last Ba'al clone goes badly wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_‘Hey.’ Daniel tapped lightly on the window to get Sam’s attention and, even though there was no way she could hear him through the thick glass, he couldn’t help adding; ‘Can you let us in?’_

_Why she was in there, apparently not held by anyone, was beyond him. The explanation would prove to be interesting, he was sure. It always was, in their job. Sam’s head came up and she turned to look at him. Daniel made a gesture of opening the door and fully expected her to come over and open it, but she didn’t move. No, she did move, but only to look back down at the controls in front of her._

_It must be automatic, Daniel reasoned; she’d open it from the controls._

_He waited. 30 seconds. A minute. Two._

_Daniel tapped on the window again, with more force, and raised his eyebrows at her when she looked over at him. The assessing look was… wrong, it didn’t suit her at all. It was familiar, though._

_It took a moment to place it, but when he did…_

_She looked like Jolinar, but no, not even that was quite right. The resemblance was far closer to the replicator version of Sam that had probed his mind. He suddenly felt cold._

_‘Sam?’ he mouthed at her, cautiously._

_Her eyebrows shot up, the look on her face suddenly morphing into a thoroughly amused smirk. Slowly and deliberately she touched her right hand to her forehead and snapped off a sloppy salute that reminded Daniel far more of Jack than of her._

_But no, again, that wasn’t right. Not of Jack, but of the electrical entity that had taken control of Sam, and had made his gesture back at him. The message was clear; ‘No, not Sam.’_

_It left Daniel with the worrying question; if not Sam, then who?_

________________________

‘This might not be such a good place to do this,’ Daniel observed, indicating the sprawled out town with a discrete hand gesture.

Sam agreed; she’d been hoping for an uninhabited planet, or at least a low population density. This… this just increased the potential for casualties to an unacceptable level. ‘Cam?’

‘Yeah, I know.’ Cam stopped just inside the town, frowning. ‘We’ll stay, have a look around, but we’re gonna have to be careful not to draw too much attention. Don’t want to spook the guy before we’ve even found him.’

According to the tracking system for his locator beacons, this planet was the location of the last Ba’al clone. SG-1 had been running join operations with the Tok’ra and the free Jaffa to catch them all, and that planet was the first that had a significant population. Sam didn’t like it at all. It would be bad enough with the potential for a firefight but with Ba’al’s reputation with explosives… if Ba’al realised they were there, Sam didn’t want to imagine the consequences.

‘Are you sure?’ Daniel shifted uncomfortably. ‘He might move on to somewhere less crowded.’

‘No, he won’t.’ Vala came up to lean on Daniel. ‘Do you really think he chose a densely populated place by accident?’

‘He knows we’ll be coming.’ Sam scanned the area. ‘That’s even worse.’

More than just explosives, Ba’al was known for _concealed_ explosives given as gifts and that was a talent that could all too easily be adapted to their current situation.

‘Right,’ Cam said, adjusting his grip on his weapon. ‘Well we can’t just leave him here, so we’ll just scout around and keep a _very_ low profile, okay?’

‘Mmm,’ said Daniel, ‘because we’ve been _so_ good at that in the past.’

Sam chewed on her lip; they did tend to stand out, but it wasn’t too bad on that planet, not with the bustle of different people passing them. Although it was probably a good thing Teal’c had been tied up with a High Council meeting, because the Jaffa was nothing if not recognisable.

Cam waved a frustrated hand. ‘Just…’ He fixed Vala with a stare, ‘don’t draw attention.’

‘Hey, why are you looking at me?’ Vala protested, but Cam set off walking further in the village, so she swung around to Daniel. ‘Why was he looking at me?’

Sam watched as Daniel made a show out of rolling his eyes and following Cam, she grinned at Vala.

‘I blend in better than you do,’ Vala said, her lower lip sticking out in a pout.

‘Yep,’ said Sam brightly, because Vala was absolutely right about that. Maybe not in the SGC uniform though.

Vala paused. ‘Oh. Well at least _someone_ appreciates my skills.’

Sam walked with her after Cam and Daniel and wondered how they were going to ask for information. The chances of just looking around and finding Ba’al were slim to none, not when he knew they’d be searching for him. Cam was heading for the nearest bar, which _was_ always a good place to get information, but not always discretely and Ba’al would have figured that out pretty quickly.

‘If we’re tracking the clones, then he – all versions of him – will have been as well,’ Vala said as they walked. ‘Since he now knows he’s the last, isn’t it just a little bit possible he’ll have failsafes here to stop us getting to him?’

‘Yeah,’ Sam said, making an effort to look at every face in the crowd around them, just in case. ‘I thought we agreed that was all the people around.’

‘We’ll keep an eye out for failsafes,’ Cam promised.

‘No.’ Daniel was shaking his head. ‘I really think we should head back and rethink-‘

‘The false god Qetesh!’ Someone shouted at the top of their lungs.

‘I found the trap,’ said Vala, stepping closer to Sam and Daniel.

‘Okay, we should definitely leave now.’ Daniel caught hold of Vala’s arm.

‘The false god Qetesh and her followers!’ yelled a different voice and this time Sam could see someone pointing straight at them.

‘Yeah, we’re leaving now.’ Cam had his gun raised and Sam followed suit. It was looking like warning shots were going to be necessary and if it escalated from there…

She led the way back, walking with her weapon raised as they shuffled back as a group with Vala at the centre. They looked, she was all too aware, like a group of devout followers protecting their God. A crowd was gathering and Sam knew that it wouldn’t be long before they could no longer keep moving as they were. Particularly not since she was beginning to see some weapons.

‘Hand gun at two o’clock,’ she said quietly to Cam. ‘And I’m pretty sure that’s a zat near the rug stall.’

‘Oh yeah, I see it.’

Daniel grimaced. ‘I really think we should pick up the pace, guys.’

‘I’m all for making a run for it,’ Vala agreed.

Cam scanned the crowd, searching for any more weapons pointed at them. ‘We could just explain to them-‘

‘I’ve tried that! It doesn’t work.’ Vala waved her zat in the direction of the stargate. ‘Can we run now?’

‘Too late.’ Sam kept her P90 raised, but she couldn’t keep moving; not without getting way too close to a group of angry looking people.

‘Fantastic.’ Cam spoke over his shoulder; ‘Jackson, you want to try talking to these guys?’

‘Sure. Why not.’ Daniel blew out a breath and raised his voice. ‘This isn’t the false god Qetesh, this is Vala, and I promise you we’re not followers of any Goa’uld. We’ll leave now, peacefully, I give you my word.’

‘Lies!’ It was the first man again, Sam was certain of it. ‘We were warned you would come! Warned that you would use your lies to take back your old slaves who have sought refuge here!’

‘Warned,’ Cam muttered, exchanging a glance with Sam. ‘I’ll bet they were.’

Another person shouted; ‘Hand over the false god and you will not be harmed!’

‘ _You_ will not be harmed,’ Vala said under her breath. ‘What about me?’

‘No false gods here, nothin’ to hand over.’ Cam shrugged. ‘So I guess we’ll just be on our way…’

A zat blast narrowly missed Daniel and Cam cursed, firing his P90 into the ground. Sam took her cue and did the same, causing the people in front of her to jump back in alarm. Not far enough back to be of any use though and there was no free path. Sam could see more people around them raising weapons…

‘ _Run_ ,’ Cam ordered.

Sam did, making sure her team was close behind her, but she was forced to run directly at people, not all of who scattered. Gunshots echoed around and she knew that there’d been more than just the one hand gun; Ba’al had chosen a planet where the people were well armed. Shit _shit._ She elbowed someone out of the way, making a point to use her zat gun. The people there did _not_ deserve to die just because Ba’al had chosen to manipulate them.

And most of them weren’t being hostile, just struggling to get away from the fighting. Unfortunately, that just made everything harder.

Someone slammed into her and Sam fended them off, but only Vala was behind her; fighting off someone who wanted to capture (or kill) ‘Qetesh’ personally. She could see Cam and Daniel trying to fight their way back to them, but they were too far… Sam realised they were going to have to get out and regroup later.

She took back her earlier thought; she wished Teal’c was there to watch her back. She _really_ wished Teal’c was there.

‘Sam!’ Vala tugged hard on her sleeve, pulling Sam back just in time as a bullet whizzed past in front of her. Vala continued as if she hadn’t just saved Sam’s life; ‘I see the tree line! If we sprint…’

‘Go,’ Sam replied, regaining her balance and shoving Vala ahead of her. It was Vala (or more accurately _Qetesh_ ) they wanted and Sam thought blocking their line of fire might help, even if some of the people clearly had no problem with shooting her too.

Vala bolted towards the trees and Sam followed at a sprint, the even ground helping her keep a steady pace. She really hoped Cam and Daniel had got themselves clear as well, but she couldn’t risk turning around, she needed to-

Electricity tingled over her as the zat blast hit and the last thing Sam saw before hitting the ground was Vala disappearing into the trees.

________________________

Sam woke to the sound of the ‘gate being dialled and immediately tried to sit up. Rope bit into her wrists and Sam grimaced as she looked down to see her hands tied in front of her. Small mercies; she wasn’t dead, but she had no idea what the angry ex-Qetesh followers would want with _her_. Or where they thought they were going.

Sitting up – with difficulty-, she watched as the wormhole formed and a small group of people from the town converged on her.

‘Stand, servant of Qetesh,’ one man said, pointing a zat at her.

‘Listen,’ Sam said, making no attempt to stand, ‘Qetesh is _dead._ The woman I travelled through here with _was_ her host, but she isn’t anymore and she wasn’t responsible for Qetesh’s crimes.’ Someone grabbed the back of her collar and yanked her to her feet. Sam sighed. ‘The man who told you Qetesh was coming here lied to you and if you could show me where he is I-‘

‘He arrives now,’ said a woman in front of her and Sam twisted to try and look behind her.

Sure enough, a single person approached the gate, and while the simple clothes weren’t familiar the arrogant stride was. There _was_ a false God on the planet, but it sure as hell wasn’t Vala.

‘What are you doing?’ Ba’al asked the lead woman as he drew closer, ignoring Sam as he eyed the open wormhole.

‘We will take this follower of Qetesh to Uetania where we will lure the false God into a trap,’ the woman replied. ‘I know of many warriors there who used to be her slaves. Will you join us?’

‘No.’ Ba’al shook his head. ‘I will remain here for the moment.’

‘You mean,’ said Sam spitefully, ‘that you’ll wait until we’ve gone through and then dial somewhere else.’

Ba’al glanced over at her disdainfully, but before he could reply a zat blast sizzled the air between them and he jumped back in alarm. Someone shouted in the distance and Sam could see Cam and Daniel (she hoped Vala was safe) running towards them, weapons raised.

‘Hmm,’ Ba’al said, while Sam’s captors scrambled for the gate, dragging her with them. ‘Perhaps I will accompany you to Uetania.’

Sam would have laughed at him if she hadn’t been fighting to keep her feet. If she could just slow down their retreat, then maybe Cam and Daniel would reach them in time…. The stargate loomed in front of her and Sam threw her weight backwards, only for the person she hadn’t known was right behind her to shove her through the open wormhole.

The air on the other side settled on her like a blanket as she staggered out and Sam took in the heavy jungle surrounding the Stargate. The gate closed behind her and Sam winced; now all she could hope for was that either Cam or Daniel had reached the DHD in time to see the address.

‘That is not Qetesh,’ announced a new voice and Sam noticed they had a welcoming committee. A heavily armed – with a variety of weapons – welcoming committee.

‘Qetesh is dead!’ Sam called, trying to salvage a situation that was probably _way_ past saving. ‘She-‘

The slap stung her cheek and cut Sam off mid-sentence.

‘This is one of her still loyal followers,’ said the woman who seemed to be in charge. ‘The false God has few left and is not travelling by ship, we believed you would be able to set up an ambush when she came to retrieve her slave.’

Ba’al was quiet, Sam realised, turning to try and see him. Too quiet; the Goa’uld almost always had something to say. She could see him, on the edge of the group, head down with his eyes fixed firmly on the ground, almost as if…. Sam narrowed her eyes; Ba’al hadn’t wanted to go through the gate and now everything about him said he didn’t want to draw attention. Almost as if someone might recognise him.

‘They did bring the false God Ba’al,’ she called loudly, looking directly at him as his head snapped up and he stared at her accusingly.

All eyes turned on her, and then followed her gaze to Ba’al. The instant recognition in the eyes of their welcoming group was hard to miss.

‘Ah,’ Ba’al said and when his left hand came up, he was wearing a ribbon device.

Sam dived away from him as a blast of energy rippled through the air, sending people flying as they tried to raise their own weapons. She was furious with herself; of _course_ he was armed, but the rattle of gunfire told her he wasn’t going to be able to hold them all off with a single ribbon device. He clearly knew that too, because as Sam twisted to look at him all she saw was the sun glinted off the ribbon device as he fled into the jungle.

It wasn’t easy getting to her feet with her hands tied – literally – but Sam managed it, fully intending to take the distraction and run in the opposite direction to Ba’al. A hand fastened around her upper arm before she could get around to the running part of her plan and she noticed that the weapons, raised at Ba’al, were now all pointed at her. Damn.

She hated having to wait for rescue.

A man, a leader from the way he carried himself, studied her. He called over his shoulder; ‘Take her to Corrol, we may still be able to set a trap for Qetesh. Tell him what has happened here and that I lead the hunt.’

The hunt. For Ba’al presumably. Sam scowled to herself as she was led down a narrow path; Ba’al had been well-prepared and her team… hadn’t. It wasn’t even that they hadn’t been expecting a trap, they _had_ , but not the specific trap he’d set. Very un-Goa’uld like to lie low in a town, not leading anything, or anyone… then again Ba’al had proven himself a little more creative than some of the other Goa’uld.

She hoped they found him. It would be a total pain to try and track him down again; she wouldn’t put it past him to figure something out with the locator beacon, if he was given enough time.

Damn, damn, _damn_. The last Ba’al clone. The last of the system lords, after a decade of fighting them, and they’d _screwed up_. At least Ba’al’s little scheme hadn’t actually succeeded in getting Vala killed. That was something.

By the time they reached their destination Sam’s shirt was damp with the humidity. Tropical climates were great, she supposed, if all you were doing was going on holiday, not so great for forced marches as a captive.

‘Corrol!’ a man called as he dragged Sam into a small stone building. ‘I bring a follower of Qetesh!’

Frankly, Sam would have thought it would be more important to first mention the false God currently loose on their planet.

A well-muscled man of medium height approached – Corrol presumably – and stared at her as if she was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. He looked up with his eyes narrowed. ‘You were supposed to bring the false God to face her punishment.’

Sam’s captor swallowed. ‘We would have, but the false God Ba’al is alive and he prevented us from succeeding in our capture of Qetesh. He also slipped through the Stargate behind us, Diviak hunts him as we speak.’

Automatically, Sam opened her mouth to correct him, then closed it again. Despite what Jack had seemed to think, antagonising her captors would get her nowhere, and he _definitely_ wasn’t going to admit to having been tricked by Ba’al.

Corrol stared. ‘Raicia, Ba’al is dead. You know this.’

Her captor – Raicia – shook his head. ‘He is _here_.’

‘I _watched_ him die.’ Corrol seized the front of Raicia’s shirt. ‘Are you calling me a _liar_?’

Oh boy. Sam wondered if this was one of the reasons Ba’al had cloned himself; to appear truly immortal.

‘Ba’al cloned himself,’ she found herself saying, and grimaced as both angry gazes turned on her. ‘Um, I mean, he made copies of himself. Ba’al _is_ here, but not the same Ba’al that you-‘

‘ _Silence_.’ Corrol slapped her and Sam shut up, her cheek stinging from the blow. He turned back to Raicia. ‘Find the intruder, whoever he is, and bring him to me. In the meantime…’ He sneered at Sam. ‘Throw this one into a cell, we will see if Qetesh comes for her worshipper.’

________________________

In a way, Sam decided she preferred high tech cells to simple stone ones. Hers fitted into the latter category and meant that escape was just that little bit less likely. The lock on the solid door was on the outside and Sam couldn’t have got to it even if she’d had something to pick it with. Electronic locks were so much easier, at least then she had a chance at finding a way to trip a circuit or guess at a lock combination… particularly as the Goa’uld seemed to favour six symbol keypads.

Sam huffed out a breath and leant against the wall. Difficult or not, she was going to have to find a way out; rescue just wasn’t an option. There was a strong possibility her team didn’t even know where she was, but there was an equally good chance they did. Even if neither Cam or Daniel had seen the gate address, they could have found something out from the villagers.

No, the real problem was that if they did come looking for her they’d be walking straight into the trap set for Vala, which would be even worse if Vala insisted on joining the rescue mission, which she would.

Of course, even if she could get out of her cell, she needed to get through the stargate, which would be guarded because they knew Ba’al was hanging around…

That thought was pushed to the back of her mind; she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

Until then… well she couldn’t get out the door and the walls were solid brick, but the roof looked like a different story.

The roof, while also pretty well made, was her best bet. Constructed with what looked like dried reed or thatch (Sam really wasn’t sure), if she could get up there she was pretty confident she could get herself out; the wooden support beams looked down right rotten. Actually _getting_ up there…

At least they’d untied her hands (a rooky mistake, but she wasn’t complaining).

Sam examined the stone walls; climbable, but high enough that she was going to regret it if she got something wrong. That was, well, not _fine_ exactly, but she’d done rock climbing before and it there really wasn’t any other way out. Not without trying to trick a guard into opening the door, and then she’d still be stuck with two-on-one odds for a best case scenario.

She’d call that plan B.

_Make sure you get out before you reach plan F_ , said a voice at the back of her mind which sounded suspiciously like Jack O’Neill.

Jack. Who’d flown back to the SGC so he could attend Ba’al’s extraction ceremony, maybe Teal’c had finished up with his meeting and joined him.

Jack. Who was going to be throwing a fit when Cam came back through the gate _sans_ her and Ba’al.

Sighing, Sam selected part of the wall that looked like it provided the best hand holds, staring up as she mapped out her path up to one of the rotting support beams. _Three points of contact at all times_ , she reminded herself as she started to climb.

It was hard going; moss made her hand holds slippery and Sam wished for a less tropical environment. Then again, she probably had the climate to thank for the beams rotting in the first place.

There was no ledge at the top of the wall for her to catch her breath, so Sam clung on and tried to figure out the physics of applying enough force to bring part of the roof down. Preferably _not_ on her head. She could, if she reached up, get hold of the nearest of the support beams, and from there try and break one of the others.

Except she was going to have to let go with both hands to achieve it.

‘Oh boy,’ Sam muttered to herself, looking up at the beam.

Possible to do without falling? Likely. Probable? Not so much, but it wasn’t like she really had a choice. She’d do it in one movement, she decided; let go, straighten up and grab the beam. No problem. Piece of cake. Child’s play. No sweat.

Staying perched there thinking about it really wasn’t going to help.

Making sure she was leaning forward, Sam realised her hand holds… and immediately felt herself tilting backwards. Clinging back onto her old hand holds would have been admitting defeat, so Sam straightened her legs and flailed her arms above her head, trying to avoid windmill motions.

_There!_

The beam. She’d grazed her right hand on it and she managed to get a grip with her left… just as part of the wall gave way under her foot.

Sam snatched hold of the beam properly, and found herself dangling there.

‘Oh yeah,’ she said, feeling the rough wood bite into the palms of her hands. ‘Nothing to it.’

From there she reasoned that she could kick the next beam over and break it. _If_ she could apply enough force. _If_ it was rotten enough to break. And if her arms didn’t give out first.

She kept herself in pretty good shape, had to really, but pulling herself up to aim a two-footed kick at the nearest support beam was still difficult. Her feet connected with a thud that made her wince, even as she realised she hadn’t hit it hard enough. Damn.

Taking a deep breath, Sam pulled herself up and kicked out again with all her strength. She was rewarded with a satisfying crack even as her arm muscles started to burn. Hopefully one beam would be enough to collapse part of the roof, because she wouldn’t have time to try another before the noise brought guards running.

She kicked out a third time, the force of the kick jarring through her.

This time the dull noise registered as way too close and Sam froze.

The beam she was kicking wasn’t breaking at all. It was the beam she was holding on to.

Sam froze, and slowly looked up. The smart thing, she knew, would be to let go and roll to break her fall, in other words, to quit while she was ahead. Quitting wasn’t going to get her out though and she _had_ just found a proven method to bring down one of the roof beams.

Her arms protesting in an ache that radiated down her back and into her core muscles, Sam pulled herself up and lashed out at the other beam again. _Creeeeaaaak._

‘ _Ooph_ ,’ she gasped as the beam began to buckle under the force and she dropped down a few inches. The beam continued to groan, a sound that echoed with the undertones of wood breaking.

Okay. It was definitely time to let go.

She swung as she released her grip, partly to get out of the danger zone, partly to allow herself the momentum to roll as the ground came rushing up to meet her. There was no time to worry about the pain blossoming through her ankle; as Sam scrambled to her feet the compromised beam gave way under the weight of the roof.

The wooden beam crashed to the floor and Sam pressed herself against the far wall as dried reed rained down.

There wasn’t time to check whether the rest of the roof was stable, as escape plans went, hers wasn’t particularly subtle and Sam was willing to bet there wasn’t a single person within a mile radius who hadn’t heard something. She dived over the remnants of the roof and scaled the wall… even as she heard the door swing open behind her.

She didn’t pause to look over her shoulder, but from the surprised curse Sam figured that whatever her guard had been expecting, the destruction he’d just walked in on hadn’t even been in the same ballpark. Good.

Jumping to the ground in the middle of a hostile town that she’d just put on high alert seemed like a bad idea, so Sam leaped to the next roof, grabbing hold of handfuls of reed as she nearly slid off. It would, she thought as she found her feet, be a _really_ good time for her team to show up with a distraction. Except that the whole point of risking such an attention grabbing escape had been because she couldn’t wait for her team to get there.

She dropped to the floor on the other side of the second building, again rolling to break her fall as her ankle throbbed. People were shouting furiously and Sam was up and sprinting for the jungle, hopefully before anyone had seen her.

Making her way through the tangle of trees and vines (and spider webs) was harder than Sam would have liked, and noisier, and _damn it_ she could hear someone else approaching.

Not from the direction she was coming from, which was sort of good, but since _everyone_ on the planet was a hostile… Yeah. Not great, but it only sounded like one person and there was a good chance whoever it was didn’t know Sam was free.

Sam crept towards the sound, ducking behind a tree when she was satisfied they were heading towards her. She counted slowly to ten, then dived out from her cover, catching sight of the uniform that matched that of her guard as she lashed out. Her blow caught him on the side of the head and he dropped with a grunt of pain. Sam wasted no time in following up the moving, wrenching his weapon from his grasp and leaving the man unconscious.

Now she had a weapon.

Which she had to use a second later when a second soldier (presumably partnered with the guy she’d just attacked) came out of nowhere and decided to lunge for her rather than draw a weapon in close quarters. Sam could understand that; she didn’t even have time to raise hers before he slammed into her, driving the breath from her lungs.

She fired anyway, and her attacker fell back with a yell. Sam didn’t wait for him to hit the ground; she hit the side of his head in an identical move to the first soldier. It worked just as well the second time.

Sam winced when she saw the wound on his leg, but didn’t have time to bind it… and he was technically the enemy, even if it was only because of a misunderstanding. Taking his gun too, Sam moved off again, listening carefully this time to make sure there wasn’t a third soldier.

Sam glanced up at the sky to regain her bearings and headed towards the gate, at a slower pace than before. She was still seriously outnumbered, but Sam was happier outnumbered and _armed_ then outnumbered and _un_ armed. She seemed to have made a clean getaway for once, but that could just be because they were looping around to guard the gate, or rather, post _more_ people around the gate, instead of wasting more men looking for her. After all, it was the only escape route.

Sam hadn’t seen any evidence that they had a stolen ship or two hanging around.

The jungle started to thin out and Sam realised she was approaching the clearing around the stargate. Feeling sweat trickle down between her shoulder blades, Sam slowed her pace further and tried to calm her breathing. Dropping to the floor, Sam army crawled to the edge of the clearing, keeping an ear out for anyone approaching.

________________________


	2. Chapter 2

It was hardly a surprise, yet still disheartening, to see the area around the gate packed with alert looking soldiers.

It meant that she could either back off and wait for rescue (still not really an option), or she could try and take them on, by herself, with two handguns. There was really no avoiding the need to take them out, but the idea of killing them still left a bad taste in Sam’s mouth. She wouldn’t shoot to kill, but it was hardly a guarantee.

She let her eyes travel around the area, marking out each soldier’s position carefully, trying to calculated _any_ position where a single shooter would have a chance…

Movement from the other side of the small clearing caught Sam’s attention and she narrowed her eyes. It was possible that they’d also placed guards in strategic places hidden around the gate, but it was more likely that-

The sun glinted off metal as Ba’al shifted so that she could see him properly, the hand device raised in a mockery of a greeting. Thankfully he couldn’t blast her to hell from all the way over there.

For crying out loud… Sam was going to _kill him_.

Except she had a distinctly better chance of taking getting to the DHD if she had help. Even his help. Sam blew out a soft breath; he knew that, and wanted to get off the planet as badly as she did. They’d just have to put off killing each other until _after_ they went through the gate… and she could get an advantage in that, if she could take them to the Alpha Site.

Suggesting working together was a bit harder, considering Ba’al didn’t know military hand signals.

Resigning herself to feeling pretty stupid, Sam mimed shooting at the guards around the gate and gestured between them. She was too far away to see Ba’al’s no doubt incredulous expression, but she _could_ see him tilt his head to one side. She hoped that meant he was paying attention. Repeating her gesture, Sam then (making sure to stay out of sight of the guards) made an exaggerated pointing movement towards herself and then mimed running towards the DHD.

There. If he didn’t get the meaning of that then he wasn’t as smart as he pretended to be… then again, Sam wasn’t sure it was possible to be as smart as a God.

Ba’al did get the meaning, but he didn’t bother acknowledging her. The first indication Sam got that her message had been received and understood was Ba’al sending out a blast of energy out into the clearing.

Swearing she scooped up one of the hand guns and opened fire as the first of the uninjured soldiers turned to try and pinpoint Ba’al. While Sam was trying to avoid killing shots wherever possible, it was blatantly obvious that Ba’al had no such reservations and she knew the death rate was going to be _much_ higher than she’d been hoping.

Sam flattened herself to the floor as she saw someone looking straight at her and not a moment too soon; she heard their shots fly over her head before Ba’al took them out.

When she raised her head she found that most of the soldiers guarding the gate were either down or had retreated. Most, not all, but it was going to have to be good enough. If even one had escaped to get reinforcements then she didn’t have much time.

Sam sprinted out of her cover, eyes on the DHD, expecting a bullet between her shoulder blades at any moment. Running out into the open with an unknown number of active hostiles was bad enough, but when the person covering you was several miles short of trustworthy… She spun around as she reached the DHD, letting loose a volley of fire and hoping it was good enough to deter anyone who’d survived their original attack.

She reached out to punch in the first symbol and something slammed into her shoulder.

The ground rushed up and Sam grabbed her shoulder, briefly wondering if she’d been shot; adrenaline would stop the pain from registering immediately… but then she heard the first chevron engage and saw Ba’al rapidly punching in an address. He’d shoved her aside to get to the DHD, Sam realised as she scrambled to her feet.

‘Hey!’ Sam tried to push him aside. ‘I said _I’d_ dial, you were supposed to cover me!’

Ba’al didn’t move an inch and hit the fourth symbol. ‘I’m dialling a nice, _neutral_ address, from which we can both go our separate ways. Somehow I don’t think that was your intention.’

‘And I seriously doubt it’s yours!’ Sam snapped back, hitting a symbol to prevent him from dialling the correct address.

Ba’al cursed and his backhand caught Sam across the face. She flew backwards, her cheek stinging, and hit the ground again, hard. He started the dialling sequence again.

Sam got up and raised her gun. ‘Step away from the DHD.’

She’d come there to kill him; the whole _point_ of the mission had been to kill him, really, but Sam still couldn’t quite bring herself to pull the trigger. If nothing else, this time they’d been hoping to save the host.

Ba’al paused and looked over at her, then, slowly and deliberately, he punched in another symbol.

Sam fired.

With a grunt of pain, Ba’al dropped to his knees… and raised his left hand.

There was no time to think, only act, and Sam threw herself out of the firing line, rolling as she hit the floor and bouncing straight back up, ready to shoot. Except Ba’al wasn’t there. He hadn’t had time to make it out of the clearing (and probably had no intention of leaving the stargate) so Sam reasoned that he was hiding behind the DHD.

Damn it.

She could try and sneak up on him, but chances were he’d get a shot off before she could, or at the same time and then they’d both end up dead. Stalemate. Sam sighed, they didn’t have _time_ to be doing this; she knew it was only a matter of time before more soldiers arrived.

‘Colonel, I suggest you allow me to dial the Chappa’ai,’ Ba’al called, clearly having come to the same conclusion.

Unfortunately, if she let him stand up, there was always the chance he would just kill her. If she didn’t kill him first, which meant the odds of him actually trusting her word enough to try and dial again was pretty slim.

‘I can’t do that,’ Sam called back, realising she was going to have to loop around and try and ambush him. Annoying, since he was definitely quicker than her, and she couldn’t rely on his bullet wound affecting his reflexes; it had probably already healed.

‘I have no intention of waiting here for the reinforcements to arrive, throw down you weapons and we can both leave.’

Sam was already half way through circling around, and grimaced. If she answered, he’d know what she was doing from her position, if she didn’t he’d immediately know from her silence. She stayed silent.

‘This is ridiculous, Samantha; you gain nothing by it. If you continue moving I will be forced to kill you and that _would_ be a shame. The _only_ solution to this is where you relinquish your weapons and allow me to dial.’

Sam stopped. ‘Throw down yours first.’

The sound of Ba’al’s low laugh floated over to her. ‘Hardly. You’ve made your intention very clear.’

‘Ba’al-‘ Sam started tersely, glaring at the DHD, then paused because she’d thought she’d heard… ‘Throw out the hand device and I’ll let you dial, we’re about to have company.’

There was a brief silence, then; ‘No.’

_For cryin’ out loud!_

‘What do you mean, _no_? Ba’al, we just killed a bunch of their men so I don’t think they’re going to be keen to talk and we can’t hold the Stargate with only two of us.’

‘I will _not_ relinquish my weapon, Tau’ri.’ Ba’al sounded pissed, Sam supposed it had something to do with her shooting him. It had been his own fault.

She drew a breath to argue just as she saw movement in the trees. ‘Okay, fine. Just _dial_!’

A yell of fury from the trees told Sam that the newcomers didn’t like what they were seeing and the first shot whizzed past her head. She _had_ to take cover, but the only cover she had any chance of reaching was currently occupied by a pissed off System Lord.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire; Sam ran and dived behind the DHD.

She landed pretty much on top of Ba’al, who immediately threw her off. Sam pressed her back against the DHD, automatically raising her arms to ward off Ba’al’s attack. Which never came. Ba’al jumped up, slammed his hand down on the DHD and dropped back down beside her. Behind them, the first chevron locked.

He shot her a look and muttered something in Goa’uld.

Sam rolled her eyes. ‘Okay look; I’ll provide cover fire and you can dial.’

Ba’al tilted his head to one side and Sam was expected to be reminded that they could have done that it the first place, but all he said was; ‘That may work.’

Taking a deep breath, Sam shuffled to one side, readying her weapon.

‘Now!’ she yelled, firing around the side. She wished she had something better than a handgun; it was far from ideal. On that note, they’d have a better chance with Ba’al providing the cover fire, but Sam estimated that there was a snowball’s chance in hell of that happening.

Ba’al leapt up again and Sam heard him hit two symbols before he took cover. She also ducked back out of the line of fire and switched guns as she’d emptied the clip.

‘They’ll be expecting it now,’ Ba’al noted, adjusted his hand device.

Sam considered that. ‘Switch sides.’

‘Agreed.’

Easier said than done, but an uncomfortable half crouched shuffle later and they’d switched positions.

Sam prepared herself again. ‘On three. One… two…’ She fired. ‘Three!’

Ba’al moved in the corner of her eye but Sam had to take cover again as bullets slammed into the ground in front of her. Ba’al dropped back down a beat later. Five symbols into the address and Sam couldn’t see how they were going to complete it.

‘We need a plan B before one of us gets shot,’ she said, checking her clip. Although he gun held more bullets than Earth made weapons it still wasn’t enough.

Ba’al shrugged. ‘I can survive being shot.’

‘Yeah, well I can’t.’

‘There are only two symbols left, Samantha, I hope you’re not losing your nerve.’

Sam tightened her grip on her gun and very carefully did not hit him with it. ‘Fine, but I’m only doing this once more so you better get both symbols.’ As if mocking her, the chevrons on the gate behind her suddenly powered down. Then, one by one, began to lock again. ‘Incoming wormhole.’

‘Yes, I had noticed.’ Ba’al was looking over at the edge of the clearing.

‘You wouldn’t make it,’ Sam told him, wondering who was dialling in. Her own team, coming to rescue her? Possible. A group of the native population returning home? More likely.

‘Probably not,’ Ba’al agreed, but continued eyeing the jungle speculatively.

The wormhole engaged and Ba’al broke cover, only to be immediately brought down by a shot to the abdomen. Sam winced.

A group of heavily armed people stepped out of the wormhole and began fanning out into a defensive position. Sam kept her weapon raised, useless since she was hopelessly outnumbered, but the newcomers barely glanced at her, instead they raised their own weapons… and fired at the local soldiers.

The sudden realisation that she was caught in the middle of an armed conflict hit Sam like a physical blow and she stayed huddled against the DHD. Bullets were flying everywhere and Sam knew staying put was her only chance of survival.

Pain seared through her leg and Sam bit back a scream, automatically dropping her gun and putting pressure on the wound. Sam pressed her back harder against the DHD and bit the inside of her lip as she tried to comprehend the sheer _unfairness_ of it all. It had supposed to be a day of victory for SG-1; catch the last Ba’al clone, the last of the System Lords. It wasn’t a day of victory anymore; it was a day of botched plans and goddamn bad luck. What were the chances of enemies of the local population dialling in _at the same time Ba’al was dialling out_?

Too low. It didn’t feel like a coincidence, it felt like something that was Ba’al’s fault; layers and layers of the trap SG-1 had stumbled into. First; get them captured and sent offworld, next send a bunch of the local’s arch enemies there to destroy all evidence.

A second bullet struck her shoulder and Sam did cry out, shifting her other hand from her leg to apply pressure to her shoulder, but her leg was bleeding more and she had to move her hand back and _god_ ; that hurt.

Blood trickled down her leg and Sam swallowed hard; there was a high chance the bullet had hit an artery. She _had_ to keep pressing on it, she had to, even if she _could_ feel the blood from her shoulder wound soaking through her shirt. She felt dizzy.

Gradually, the firing died down and Sam became aware of the invading force moving off, probably to the base camp. Not one of them spared her a glance.

A groan next to her momentarily diverted Sam’s attention and she turned to see Ba’al, who’d also been caught in the crossfire; it looked like he’d been trying to get back to the DHD. He was worse off than her – much worse – and Sam was struck with the sudden realisation that neither of them were likely to survive. Dark stains spread over his clothes and when Ba’al coughed blood spluttered from his mouth.

Sam grimaced, letting her head fall back down against the DHD. He was clearly beyond his ability to heal and she… well. It was getting harder to focus on anything but the sharp pain in her leg, not to mention that keeping pressure on it had become unbearable.

_I don’t want to die_ , she thought suddenly.

They’d defeated some enemies they’d once thought invincible, she was _not_ going to die before she had to chance to finally sit down and study all the technologies those fights had left them with. Except, apparently, she was.

‘Samantha…’ Ba’al’s voice was a barely audible rasp and Sam turned her head and tried to focus on him. Her eyes widened when she realised he’d managed to drag himself closer to her, his arm flailed around until his hand landed on her wrist. ‘I _am_ sorry for this.’

By the time she realised he wasn’t talking about getting them both shot, it was far too late. He tugged on her arm, harder than Sam would have thought him still capable of, and she sprawled next to him.

Ba’al coughed again, gagged, and this time it wasn’t just blood that came out.

‘No,’ Sam protested, trying to get into a position where she could push herself up with her good arm. ‘No, damn it.’

She didn’t have the strength to go any further and it only occurred to her that she’d just given the symbiote a free path to the back of her neck when a new burst of pain opened up.

The initial sensation was identical to Jolinar. The pain from having something _moving_ around her spine almost eclipsed the fear; almost, but not quite.

Then the tendrils of Ba’al’s consciousness slowly wrapped themselves around her mind and the similarities to Jolinar ended there. The Tok’ra had been frantic, and apologetic, Ba’al was neither. Sam’s first impression of him was a calm – despite the circumstances – calculating presence that immediately acted to heal her.

Naturally, Sam appreciated the gesture, seeing as it meant she was no longer _dying_ , but when she tried to sit up, she found she couldn’t and the panic set in.

_/Try to relax. I accept this is hardly an ideal solution, but it_ was _the only option available./_

Sam flinched at the sudden voice, which still sounded _exactly_ like Ba’al, complete with South African accent.

_/Of course I do, that is how you imagine I should sound./_

Sam could feel his presence all the way through her, it was a bizarre sensation; not so much that he was going _through_ her memories, but that he already knew them. That her mind was his mind. The instant she thought it, the sensation eased; Ba’al seemed to have backed off, just a little.

_Thank you,_ she thought at him. _Now if you could give me my body back…_

_/And go where?/_

Ba’al sat them up, which was seriously weird, and looked over at his former host, who had not survived the transfer.

_Oh shit._

_/It_ was _inevitable. I would not have done it if I believed I could have healed him./_

Sam would have loved to argue with him about that, but she could _feel_ the truth behind his statement.

_/I saved us both, and you’re welcome./_

Gratitude didn’t come easily when you’d had control of your own body stripped from you. A loss of control that was so totally unnatural that it disturbed her at every level, she had no idea how the Tok’ra hosts got used to it. She hoped _she_ wouldn’t have to get used to it.

_You’re not keeping me as a host, Ba’al._ It was annoying that she knew he could feel her fear.

_/I do not intend to. Your people would hunt me down with a renewed determination that I doubt I would survive, and since survival is the point of this exercise…/_

He would find another host, something else that Sam didn’t want to think about; she would be condemning someone else to a life confined inside their own head. And she wasn’t sure she would live through it; the Goa’uld did not leave ex-hosts alive.

_/I will make an exception for you. Have I not told you before that I would not kill you? As for your obvious guilt issues, I have a solution that should solve that, but in the meantime, we must leave this place_ before _those humans return./_

Sam felt herself stand up, a little bit unsteadily as Ba’al continued to work on the last of her injuries. She took the opportunity to try and wrestle back control and they staggered forward, almost face-planting.

_/Stubborn Tau’ri. You must know there is nothing you can do about it; you could not even overcome that pathetic Tok’ra./_ Ba’al examined his host’s body and found that his hand device had been irreparably broken in the firefight.

_Jolinar was not pathetic,_ Sam snapped at him. Despite taking her as a host against her will, Jolinar had died saving her. Although… Ba’al’s disdain wasn’t personal; Sam could feel a deep seated hatred for the Tok’ra in general.

She was surprised at the lack of hostility directed towards her.

_/You have proven yourself to be highly intelligent, for a Tau’ri. And your appearance… I would go as far to say you are suitable as a host./_ Ba’al’s mental voice was tinged with amusement and Sam could feel her mouth twisting into a smirk.

_I thought we just agreed you_ weren’t _keeping me as a host._ Sam replied, as Ba’al started walking back around to the front of the DHD, keeping an eye out for soldiers.

_/Just because you are physically fit to be a host, does not mean you should be./_ Ba’al sniffed. _/Also, I prefer male hosts./_

His tone suggested it was a slur on her gender, but Sam could feel that he actually did prefer male hosts, simply because he identified more strongly as male.

Her nose itched and Sam automatically went to scratch it, and failed. _Fine,_ _so I’m a temporary host. How about you give_ me _control, seeing as it’s my body?_

Ba’al scratched her nose. _/No./_

_No negotiation? Just no?_ Sam was getting nervous; exactly how long would it take him to find another host?

_/Not long./_ Ba’al began to dial the DHD. _/Do not worry yourself about that./_

_That was a_ private _thought_ , Sam told him angrily.

_/No such thing anymore, my dear./_

Sam felt chilled to the bone.

Ba’al finished dialling his address (a neutral world, not allies to the Tau’ri nor home of the few remaining Goa’uld followers - Sam was sure he’d let her access that information on purpose) and the wormhole engaged.

The wormhole swallowed them and spat them out on a desert planet, just as hot as the jungle, but dry rather than humid. Sam appreciated the change.

_/We won’t be staying./_ Ba’al was already approaching the DHD.

Sam sensed a certain… purpose to him. She didn’t like it. _Are we going somewhere in particular?_

_/Yes, as a matter of fact./_ Ba’al began dialling his address and Sam focused on it, but the symbols just wouldn’t stay in her mind.

_What are you doing?_

_/We’re going to one of my few remaining bases that no-one has yet discovered./_ Ba’al paused and Sam could feel the unsaid ‘hopefully’ that hovered around his mind. _/It will be best if you do not know the address./_

‘Hello friend!’ called a voice from behind them and Ba’al spun around to face a man in simple clothing who was presumably from a nearby village. ‘Do you need directions to reach the market?’ The villager curiously peered past Sam and Ba’al as he was speaking and looked at the DHD. Then he frowned as he took in Sam’s dishevelled appearance.

Ba’al drew her stolen gun with a casualness that belied what he was about to do. She could feel it in his mind; the man had seen her, seen the half dialled address. No witnesses.

_No! Ba’al!_ Sam tried to wrestle control back from him, but she _couldn’t_ , no matter how hard she tried.

The villager noticed the movement too late. Ba’al shot him; three bullets in the centre of mass. Clinical. Efficient.

A cold fury enveloped Sam as the man hit the ground.

_/Calm down, Samantha. It was necessary./_ Ba’al turned back to the Stargate.

Sam hurled her emotion at him like a weapon, wanting him to understand how _she_ felt about killing, needing him to understand the guilt, the horror of it. He absorbed her assault without a problem and she knew instinctively that it hadn’t bothered him; after all, he’d dealt with the emotions of his many hosts, each horrified by his own actions. Ba’al remained impervious, unshakable in the belief that those lives _didn’t matter_.

In her outrage Sam managed something she couldn’t quite define and she felt something give. Ba’al’s hosts. He was not old for a Goa’uld, but that wasn’t saying much, really, and he’d still had several hosts; most taken entirely against their will.

Sam could feel it. The terror from each of them; the guilt, the fear, all ignored by Ba’al as he continued in his efforts to rise among the Goa’uld ranks by all means necessary. Aziru. The name of his last host, the one that he’d just allowed to die on the planet behind them. The man whose mind he’d cloned every time simply because he used the same process for symbiote and host. Simply because it was _easier_ not to alter the process between them.

He’d continued to torture a man for the sake of convenience.

Sam fell.

The sensation jarred her out of the memories and stopped as suddenly as it had begun, leaving her dazed and… cut off. She could feel her body operated by Ba’al, but only vaguely, every sense muted, dampened down until it was almost gone. Ba’al’s mind was still there, a blanket above her; no, not a blanket. An impenetrable barrier that held her prisoner in her own mind.

Sam fought, desperate to claw her way out of her cell, but there was nothing to fight against and she was forced to back off, defeated.

Forget having her movements controlled by someone else this, _this_ was the worst thing she could imagine. Deprived of everything, with nothing but her own thoughts for company and no way of getting relief…

But she would not apologise. Not to him. Not after what she’d just found.

Oh, she’d known it was there, had known _exactly_ what he was. Still, experiencing it had been something else entirely.

She floated, because the alternative was panic. The numb darkness shifted around her, but Sam refused to let go of her resolve. She would not apologise (he was in her mind; she had the right to be in his). She would not ask for him to free her from the prison in her own mind (she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction).

____________________


	3. Chapter 3

Sam had lost track of time when her senses returned in full force. She flinched as the pressure of Ba’al mind returned with them, expecting a snide remark, or a follow up threat, but he didn’t acknowledge her.

Relief. Sam felt relief. She wondered if that was a popular method for the Goa’uld to control their hosts; trap them in a distant corner of their own mind for so long that they’re _thankful_ when they’re let out. Sam wasn’t thankful. She was angry. Relieved; but angry.

And she was walking through a sparsely wooded area towards god only knew where, on a planet that she didn’t know the address for. Maybe Ba’al had gone through several gates before they’d arrived, maybe just one. She had no way of knowing.

_Where are we?_

The thought wasn’t so much aimed at Ba’al, as it was her wondering to herself, but Sam was aware she’d broadcast it to him loud and clear. He ignored it.

It was possible she’d annoyed him enough that he was treating her like he usually treated his hosts. Apparently System Lords took it badly when their host broke into their minds. Well that was too bad, Ba’al had had _no right_ to take her as a host (Sam stubbornly maintained she might have survived anyway) and he could damn well deal with the consequences.

The leaf litter crunched beneath her boots and Sam made another run on regaining control. Her efforts slide off Ba’al’s mind like water off a duck’s back.

_/Stop that, you’re only embarrassing yourself./_ Ba’al’s mental tone was mild.

_You’re worried that I might succeed,_ Sam shot back. As taunts went, it wasn’t a very good one; Ba’al was letting her feel his confidence that she wouldn’t be able to wrestle control from him.

Amusement radiated from him. _/By all means, continue trying, I was merely trying to preserve your pride./_

It would serve the smug bastard right if she _did_ manage to. Except she knew she couldn’t, so; _Where_ are _we, Ba’al?_

_/Heading for that base I told you about; it’s a cloning facility./_ Ba’al was definitely pleased with himself and Sam could see where he was going with it.

But she didn’t understand _why_. Wouldn’t it be easier to hide if he looked different? Sam winced as she felt Ba’al latch on to that thought. Right. No privacy anymore.

Ba’al rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and then abruptly stopped when he realised there was no beard to stroke. He smiled. _/That is why. I have become accustomed to my old host; his appearance suited me./_

_His name was Aziru_ , Sam said. _And haven’t you tortured him enough?_

Exasperation flooded through Ba’al. _/Would prefer that I choose a new host, then? Or perhaps you are suggesting I keep you?/_

She’d been hunting him down for months; Sam thought it was pretty obvious what she would prefer.

_/Hmm. Well, we’re bypassing_ that _option Samantha, so I believe I will continue with ‘plan A’, as you would put it. Here we are./_

Ba’al approached the Goa’uld base and Sam took in a relatively small structure built in the middle of a wide clearing at the top of a hill. Good location and easily defendable.

_/Easily defensible with an army of Jaffa, which we do not have. No matter, I do not plan on staying here longer than necessary./_

Ba’al keyed in a code and entered. Even if he hadn’t told her, Sam would have known it was his base, well, his or Anubis’. The typical Goa’uld decorations lined some of the walls, but the facility also reminded her strongly of Ancient architecture and technology; despite the rich golds, it still resembled the decorations that Sam had become familiar with in her time in Atlantis.

Making the connection had been accidental, but as soon as she’d thought it, Sam regreted it; Ba’al latched onto the idea and started sifting through her mind. She couldn’t stop him from finding out about the city, its defenses and its weapons.

_/Atlantis. Now that would be a sight to see./_

_You’re not going there,_ Sam insisted, worry eating at her. _Ever. Those drones you’re so interested in would tear your ships apart before you got close._

_/I’m sure I would think of something./_ He was amused by her reaction, Sam could feel it.

Ba’al approached the central room in the facility, thick walled, with reinforced glass window in the door, he rapidly entered a new code and the doors slid open. It was the cloning lab, Sam could see that without needing any information from Ba’al’s mind.

Along one wall there were three large structures, Sam could only think of them as something between a tank and a machine. No prizes for guess what they were. The centre of the room was dominated by a large data terminal.

There was a mirror – of course there was a mirror – in one corner of the room and Ba’al stopped in front of it, looking at her. Sam wanted to complain, because really he’d seen her before, but the feeling in Ba’al’s mind stopped her.

He was certainly checking her out, that was certain, and somewhat predictable, but there was something else as well. The emotion curled around her mind, not invasive, just _there_ and it took a moment for Sam to recognise it as curiosity.

Ba’al lifted her hand and ran it down her face, watching the gesture in the mirror as he did it.

Sam had the sudden urge to turn away. _Knock it off_.

Ba’al met her eyes in the mirror. ‘Why, Samantha?’

Her voice, coming out of her mouth, but not her words. Actually, not quite her voice; Ba’al had chosen to use the symbiote flange. Sam shuddered. Her face looked back at her from the mirror, caught in a thoughtful frown, and Sam noticed the sensation of wrongness wasn’t just originating from her mind.

_/Odd, how one can become accustomed to a host. You are so very different./_ Ba’al moved away from the mirror.

_Maybe if you hadn’t insisted in keeping him alive for over two thousand years,_ Sam fired back at him.

Ba’al chose to ignore that; the aborted attempt to form a reply danced briefly through her awareness, before subsiding. Instead, he moved towards the data terminal, and the nearest cloning machine.

_Machine?_ Sam asked before she could stop herself, because Ba’al definitely thought of it as a machine, rather than a tank.

_/Once the data is input, that is where the clone grows. It was easier to incorporate all stages into a single machine, seeing as I have used a time dilation field to ensure I never had to wait years for a clone to be fully grown./_ Ba’al skimmed the data easily as he explained, confirming that no one had been in and messed with his data.

Ba’al processed the data smoothly, effortlessly, and Sam really began to appreciate the extent of his intelligence.

_Time dilation field? Where did you get that technology?_

_/Anubis/_ Ba’al replied, his lingering distaste for the ascended Goa’uld settling in her mind like ash. _/He had the technology, but not the imagination to make effective use of it. I believe he got it from the Asgard./_

Ba’al opened up the programming for the machine and Sam could see it, every detail, as it passed through his mind. It was so _complex_ , and beautiful and she could have spent months, even years, learning how it all worked. Time dilation technology was simply _fascinating_.

_/If we had more time I could have taught it to you./_ Ba’al said casually, to Sam’s surprise.

_Really?_

_/Of course. You may even understand some of it./_

_Nice._ Sam wanted to turn her back on him, or roll her eyes, or _something_.

It seemed Ba’al wasn’t being completely sarcastic though, because as he began to alter the program to work with only the hosts DNA, not the symbiote, he allowed her further into his mind, so that she could share in his understanding of it. She doubted she’d retain the information, but it was still worth it.

And in the program she could see…

_Alter it so that it doesn’t download his mind._ Sam said, keeping her mental tone soft. _You don’t need it to; you’re not cloning yourself, just him. He’s been through enough._

_/That will take time./_ Ba’al was reluctant, but it wasn’t a refusal. _/I thought you wanted this over and done./_

_It won’t take that long, I can wait._

The day or so longer she would have to be a host for Ba’al to work out the calculations was worth it. Aziru _had_ been through enough.

Still Ba’al hesitated. _/It would be… strange./_

Lonely was the word that came to mind and Sam had no idea if it was her thinking that, or him. Her. It had to be.

_Just do it._ Sam said. _Please._

_/As you wish./_

The agreement made Sam feel off balance as Ba’al switched his concentration back to the cloning machine. She shook it off, determined to learn as much about the technology as possible. It was incredible, the complexity, the way the time dilation technology was interfaced and the process (that Ba’al was working out how to delete) of downloading an entire consciousness.

The equations streamed through her mind with Ba’al making occasional changes and it wasn’t until Sam’s stomach growled that she realised it had been hours.

_Do you even have any food here?_

The whirlwind of numbers stopped. _/Would I have come somewhere where we were likely to starve?/_

_I don’t know, you tell me._ Sam wondered how there could be food there. Did the Goa’uld even have rations? Surely they had some kind of long life food…

_/We did, but that’s not what I have here./_ Ba’al stepped away from the data terminal and strode out of the cloning lab. _/Incidentally I was working here at the same time I was on Earth./_

_And what do you mean by ‘you’?_

Ba’al grinned. _/This version of me. I moved here from Earth and set up this facility, around the same time the Jaffa thought they had executed me./_

_They_ did _execute you,_ Sam felt compelled to point out.

_/Details, details./_

And when they were on the subject of the clones… Sam didn’t expect an answer, but she had to ask; _Where is the original anyway?_

Ba’al gave a mental shrug, like it meant nothing to him. _/I have no idea./_

_Of course you don’t._

_/So suspicious, Samantha. We went all our separate ways by, ah, mutual agreement./_ Ba’al entered a small room that was stocked by long life food products from Earth. _/Seeing as if one of us were caught we would gladly provide information on the others in return for our life./_

The whole cloning thing was giving Sam a headache, particularly as Ba’al seemed to be perfectly comfortable thinking about himself as a collective.

_You’ve hoarded Earth food._

_/Some of your Tau’ri food was most enjoyable./_

Sam eyed the stockpile, a little suspiciously. What was Ba’al’s taste in food anyway?

_So. What are we having?_

Ba’al swept an arm out in an all-encompassing gesture. _/You may choose./_

_That’s very generous of you,_ Sam said.

Ba’al didn’t miss the sarcasm, but still responded with unbearable smugness. _/Yes, it is, isn’t it?/_

________________________

Reprogramming the machine to the new specifications took well over a day, even when Ba’al didn’t bother sleeping. Which was bizarre. Sam really felt like she _should_ need sleep.

_/I’m sure you’ll agree it’s useful. Imagine all those sleepless nights you’ve had finishing a project and how much_ easier _it would have been./_

Sam reflected that even though she wasn’t physically tired, mentally was another matter. _Didn’t I tell you to stay out of my memories?_

_/It’s possible you implied something along those lines./_

The number of codes and protocols they were going to need to change was enormous, Sam realised. At least there was a procedure in place, had been ever since they realised the Goa’uld could access every bit of the hosts memories.

_So you’ll get nothing out of this._

_/I wouldn’t call the location of the Ancient city_ nothing _./_

He was baiting her. Sam let it slide.

_How long will the clone take to grow?_

A creepy question, in Sam’s opinion, but hey, she had an alien wrapped around her spine so she figured she had creepy just about covered already. The thought conjured up memories of seeing the symbiotes, the slime, the little fins and the beady eyes… Sam winced; there was one of those in the back of her _neck_.

_/I’m truly hurt./_ Ba’al brought up the time dilation information up on the screen. _/It should take about a week./_

_A week?_ _Can’t you speed up the time dilation field?_

_/It will take a week./_

Cooperating, Sam decided, was not really Ba’al’s area. _You didn’t answer my question._

The pause was long enough that she was beginning to think that Ba’al was ignoring her again, then he said; _/Power requirements, Samantha./_

He didn’t elaborate, Sam would have asked him to, but he was radiating stubbornness and she knew that was all she was going to get. She watched as Ba’al went through the system and she realised he was using the terminal to check which of his bases were compromised.

_They’re linked?_ she asked. They seemed to be, and that could be _very_ useful, even if Ba’al was making sure not to give her any locations.

_/Oh, only from here./_ Ba’al made a mental note – shielded from her – of which bases were still undiscovered, then proceeded to purge the subspace link from the system.

_Hey!_

_/Well I could hardly allow you to have that information now, could I?/_

Sam would bet some of those other bases were linked as well, so it wasn’t a _huge_ loss.

_/They are not./_

As if he’d admit it if they were.

_Of course not._ Sam considered the data terminal in front of her. _So, the clone takes a week to grow. What now?_

Ba’al smiled. _/I thought I would take the time to teach you the basics of time dilation technology./_

_You what?_   Sam didn’t believe it. _Why?_

_/The Goa’uld empire has fallen, the Tau’ri and Jaffa are now the most powerful forces in this galaxy./_ Ba’al sniffed, to show what he thought of that. _/It is in my interests to establish some goodwill./_

_You forgot the Tok’ra,_ Sam said absently, as she tried to work out whether he was serious. _And I doubt you even know what goodwill is._

_/Did you want the information, or not?/_

He already knew the answer to that. _If you can walk me through it without insulting my intelligence every second sentence._

Ba’al pretended to think that over. _/I’ll do my best./_ He cast an assessing gaze at the data terminal, and started to download the information into a portable data reader.

_We’re not staying in here?_

_/A week of standing by this data terminal? No. There are far more comfortable places to be./_

Ba’al took the time dilation data and left the cloning lab, making his way through the compound until they arrived at small but intensely decorated room that had wide, soft looking chairs next to a table in one corner and a large pile of intricately embroidered cushions in another.

Ba’al lit the small torches that lined the walls and the room was bathed in firelight.

Sam looked at them curiously. _Why don’t you just use electric lights?_

_/I like fire./_ Ba’al hovered her hand over the nearest flame and Sam tried to pull back as it burnt her palm.

_Ow! Ba’al!_

He withdraw her hand, healing it instantly, but continued to watch the smoke curling up to the ceiling. Sam hoped he had good ventilation.

_If you like fire so much, why wasn’t there any in the cloning lab?_ she asked, wishing she could step away before Ba’al decided to catch her hair on fire, or something.

_/I would not light a fire in laboratory, Samantha./_

Was he messing with her? He’d just put her hand into the flames!

_Don’t even pretend you have safety rules._

Moving past the chair, Ba’al sat down cross-legged among the cushions. _/It would set my research back a little if my laboratories were constantly exploding, wouldn’t you agree?/_

_Just… show me how the time dilation field works._

With a shrug, Ba’al switched on the hand held device, and considered it for a moment, then started digging through her mind again.

Sam tried – unsuccessfully – to throw him out. _What the hell are you doing?_

_/Finding out how much you already know./_ Ba’al said, as if it was not only obvious, but reasonable.

_How about you just start with the basics, and we work it out from there?_

Thankfully, some of the pressure eased off her mind. _/I am sure we’ll disagree on what qualifies as_ basic _, but if that’s what you want…/_ Ba’al sighed. _/We will start with power requirements./_

They did disagree with what was ‘basic’, but once Ba’al was willing to give her a little more access to his mind, so she knew what he was talking about when he used words that didn’t exist in English yet, it went much smoother. A hell of a lot smoother than she’d ever expected.

The time dilation technology was intricate beyond belief and Sam was fairly certain it would take years of research to fully understand it. It was also one of the most interesting things she’d ever studied; right up there with the phase technology and the cloaks. Also, if she was _completely_ honest with herself, Sam had always enjoyed working with someone who was smarter than her. It was refreshing.

It was also the most frustrating (scared was not a word she could think, not when Ba’al could hear) experience of her life.

Sometimes, if Sam concentrated hard enough on the equations, she could forget she wasn’t in control. That never lasted long. And it took two days to convince Ba’al to actually sleep just so she could catch a break.

What surprised her was that Ba’al was apparently capable of patience. Sure, he’d complain and insult her, but he didn’t necessarily _rush_ her.

Almost a week after the cloning process had been initiated, and Sam was beginning to feel like she was really getting somewhere with the time dilation equations.

_Can you show me how this could be reversed to make time run slower in the field?_ Sam asked, she knew it could be done. She examined the data terminal in front of them; Ba’al had been checking on the cloning process, so they were in the cloning lab.

_/I could, if I was looking to distract you from actually understanding this./_

Sam reread the equation set. _I think I’ll understand it better if I can see how it would work when reversed._

_/No, it would merely-/_ Ba’al cut off, switching to another set of programs in the terminal, one that was flashing some kind of warning.

A knock came at the locked door and a tingling worry surfaced from Ba’al’s mind as he turned saw…

_Daniel!_ Sam tried to say and the relief at seeing him alive and well could have actually made her knees weak. If she’d still been in control of her knees.

_/-confuse the issue./_ Ba’al finished and grimaced.

Daniel was saying something to her, none of which was audible through the thick door. Not that it mattered; both her and Ba’al recognised the simple request to be let in. It was not a request that he was going to grant, Sam knew, as he glanced back down at the controls, confirming that his clone (no – Aziru’s clone, his new host) was not yet fully grown.

_/No matter/_ Ba’al said. _/Your friends will just have to wait a little longer./_

_They won’t accept that_. Sam was proud that they’d found her so quickly. _They will get in here_.

_/Perhaps. We will have to cross that river when we come to it./_

_Bridge,_ Sam corrected and was rewarded by the sensation of Ba’al rifling through her mind.

_/Ah, yes. Bridge./_

A louder tap sounded at the door and Ba’al looked up again.

_You could tell him the door’s locked,_ Sam suggested. _And it might take us a while to-_ Sam broke off as Ba’al mentally tossed information at her. _It’s going to take another day? They’re not going to believe it takes me a day to open a door._

_/Of course not/_ Ba’al agreed, eyeing Daniel speculatively.

For his part, Daniel’s expression had changed. Hesitantly, he mouthed ‘Sam?’

_/The game is up. Let’s give him something to think about./_

Ba’al’s intention flashed across her mind, but there was still nothing Sam could do to stop him as he snapped off a sloppy salute to Daniel. He friend’s face immediately closed off and she knew he’d recognised the gesture.

_/You have had an unfortunate time with other beings appropriating your body/_ Ba’al noted.

_And you’re really not helping that_. Sam told him.

_/Oh please. You could win any bragging contest; being taken over by three separate entities must be a record, even in your poorly organised Stargate program./_

Sam wanted to argue that the electrical entity incident hadn’t been so much _taken over_ as _replaced_ , considering her mind had been moved to the computer, but Ba’al that already stolen that information. It had been creepy watching the security tapes later and yet also touching; to see how much her team cared.

He turned her back to Daniel and among his words Sam could feel something else, just beyond her reach. She probed towards it, trying to figure it out… and briefly her senses dulled as Ba’al shoved her away. Her mind bounced back up rather than sink down to the bottom, but it brought back nasty reminders of what he could do to her, if he chose.

_/Do not do that./_

_Then tell me what you’re thinking._

The activity in Ba’al’s mind had increased to levels that reminded her of when he was reprogramming his cloning machine. Except the _content_ of the activity twisted just out of reach, leaving her frustrated.

_Seriously, if you’re planning something that I won’t like, what does it matter? I can’t do anything about it._

_/We may need to abandon this place./_

Sam started at the admission, its ramifications slowly sinking in. _No. No, Ba’al, we can’t. Do you even have another laboratory that’s still intact? And we can’t start again; this has taken nearly a week._

And that was when Ba’al had had the lab to go to, neatly still set up, ready to start cloning. The idea of staying like she was, trapped by Ba’al, for even _longer_ , when they were so damn close was unthinkable.

_/It would not be_ so _bad, Samantha. I might even have the time to finish teaching you about my time dilation technology./_

Again, Ba’al was really not helping and Sam wanted to turn and face him, to break his goddamn nose again or something, she couldn’t because he was _in her head._ Frankly Sam decided that, right then, she would settle for being able to move her own limbs. She was struck by the almost overwhelming urge to cry and pushed it away ruthlessly.

She braced herself, waiting for Ba’al’s latest mocking remark.

Instead he began typing at the console, stray thoughts of bulkheads and security features swirling around. _/I will enact the lockdown procedures, it may be enough time if I am also able to alter the time dilation field./_

_Um._ Sam replied, before realising that it was a patently stupid thing to think at someone. _Okay, but if you make the time difference more extreme didn’t you say that would eat a lot of power? I noticed that we don’t exactly have a lot to spare._

Outside the room, she could see Daniel talking urgently on his radio, his eyes never leaving her.

_/Yes. I have it running at maximum safe capacity already, any adjustments may cause an overload./_ Ba’al sounded terse as he moved to initiate the lockdown.

_Wait,_ Sam was running the calculations herself. _Lockdown minimises power output, it’ll make adjusting the time dilation field impossible._

_/I may be able to adjust that once the lockdown is initiated./_ Ba’al looked back over at the door to where Cam had joined Daniel and was trying to communicate with her via hand waving. _/However if I do_ not _lockdown the base…/_ Ba’al raised her eyebrows. _/Incomprehensible gestures will not be the extent of their resistance./_

If they weren’t already trying to figure out the door controls, Sam would eat her jacket.

The last of the lockdown codes moved to the forefront of Ba’al’s consciousness and bulkhead began to rise out of the floor. He wasted no time in bringing up the power grid, but Sam could see that the news was not good.

_You’re not going to be able to reprogram that._

Anger surged through Ba’al, before he realised that she wasn’t taunting him. _/No, I am not./_

Sam wanted to explore the cloning machines programming. _Can’t you just open it now? What does it matter if he’s a few years younger than you intended?_

Ba’al didn’t answer her directly, instead choosing to mentally send her the answer. Suddenly, Sam could see it in the programming; the machine had been set to operate for a specific time, one that couldn’t be altered when the machine was already active, not without killing the clone. It was a problem that had developed due to the complexity of the input time, which dealt with time both inside and outside of the time dilation field, as well as containing the switch to shut off the field.

A design flaw, she thought, but not one that would have bothered Ba’al until now.

_/This compound is shielded from Asgard technology, but no doubt your Tau’ri friends will be through the lockdown protocols within the day. I cannot stay here./_

_You can’t leave either,_ Sam pointed out, guiltily relieved at the fact. _We’re in lockdown._

_/I can actually./_ Ba’al moved her away from the console and walked behind the cloning machine. Her hand swiftly typed a code into a key pad and a floor panel slide to one side, leaving an underground passage open.

_Isn’t this a flaw in your lockdown_? Sam asked.

For a second she thought Ba’al was ignoring her, then she felt a mild burst of agreement. _/A necessary one. I_ do _prefer to have an open escape route./_

He lowered her down into the tunnel, and Sam felt hard rock beneath her boots.

_Can’t we just hide out down here?_ _There’s always the chance they won’t destroy the clone._

_/No. I assure you that I don’t want to start again either, however you and your SGC have never seen eye to eye with me and they will_ certainly _destroy the clone. And would likely discover us as well, this is an escape route, not a hideout./_ Ba’al set off down the tunnel at a steady jog and for the first time Sam really felt the increased strength and stamina the symbiote was giving her.

Ba’al was thinking about escaping through the stargate, but he wasn’t letting her in on the details. Whatever he was planning, Sam was worried it might work. If there was one thing the experience was teaching her it was that Ba’al’s sense of self-preservation matched the size of his ego… and he would achieve it with no regard for casualties.

If he did get them off the planet… how long until he found a usable laboratory with the data he needed? How long before he could make another clone? Sam felt drained, exhausted from fighting off the constant urge to panic. She felt a renewed compassion for Ba’al’s previous hosts; they’d dealt with _centuries_ of this.

Irritation prickled, no, wait, that was _Ba’al’s_ irritation.

_/I will not keep you as my host any longer than is strictly necessary, Samantha. Perhaps you have forgotten, but while you worry about mere weeks of your life if we are caught it will mean my death./_

There was something else, under his anger, something she still couldn’t quite make out.

_I haven’t forgotten. Maybe you should have thought of that before enslaving and torturing people._

Sam had seen the state Jack O’Neill had come back in, after being held captive by Ba’al. He hadn’t wanted visitors for most of the sarcophagus withdrawal, but that wasn’t the worst of it. The worst of it had been knowing _why_ he’d ended up with sarcophagus withdrawal… and it was all caused by the sadist currently inhabiting her head.

_/O’Neill invaded my base as a Tok’ra, what did he_ think _was going to happen?/_

Ba’al, Sam knew, felt that his reaction had been entirely justified.

_I’m not discussing this with you._

_/I did not bring it up./_ Ba’al sniffed disdainfully.

_Neither did I_ , Sam felt the need to point out. _You were prying into my mind, again._

They reached the end of the tunnel and Ba’al placed her hand on the rungs of a ladder and began to climb.

Ba’al had gone silent and Sam hoped he had a plan B that didn’t include trying to get through the gate. She doubted it, and her fear was confirmed when the tunnel came out much closer to the Stargate.

_Ba’al?_

No response.

_Don’t try to fight your way to the gate, it won’t work._

Nothing. Damn it, she knew he could hear her.

‘Colonel Carter, ma’am, please drop your weapons and put your hands on your head.’ The voice came from behind them and Ba’al opted instead to turn around. He didn’t reach for his weapon though, so Sam considered it a win.

The man was from the SGC and had a gun trained on Ba’al. Ba’al tried to find a name in Sam’s mind, unsuccessfully; all she could remember was that he was a sergeant.

‘Sergeant,’ Ba’al greeted, injecting relief into his voice and trying to hide his frustration. ‘What’s going on?’

To his credit, the man’s aim didn’t even waver. ‘Ma’am, please put your weapon on the floor.’

_/I don’t believe he’ll shoot. He’d be in a lot of trouble for killing the great Samantha Carter of SG-1./_

_I have no idea whether he’ll shoot,_ Sam told him. _Do you want to take the risk?_

Ba’al considered that for a moment and then dropped his gun to the floor.

‘Hands on your head, Colonel Carter,’ the Sergeant said and Ba’al reluctantly obeyed.

The Sergeant was shooting her weird looks and talking on the radio, when Sam finally managed to pin down that feeling that had been hovering in Ba’al’s mind ever since the appearance of Daniel.

Ba’al was afraid. Shocked didn’t even begin to cover how she felt - a Goa’uld, with actual _emotions?_ – but the Tok’ra had emotions similar to those of humans and Sam knew they were the same race. Still, Ba’al; mighty, arrogant, Goa’uld System Lord, afraid? Not what she’d been expecting.

_/Must I lock you in a remote corner of your mind again?/_

Sam squashed her disbelief. Mocking him for being more than the cold, aloof Goa’uld she’d imagined was not really fair. Also, she had a nasty feeling that she’d developed stereotypes for the Goa’uld, bought into their propaganda a little too much. Had she really expected a whole section of a race to be utterly emotionless? He was ruthless, certainly, and cruel, but-

_/Do you mind?/_

_Hey, I bet I wouldn’t like your thoughts about me, either._

Ba’al paused. _/Probably not./_

_Oh, thanks._

Now she was curious… but curious in a I-bet-I-would-regret-finding-out kind of a way, so it was probably a good thing that Ba’al wasn’t planning on sharing.

Amusement crept up on her from Ba’al. _/Well, I_ could _share them with you…/_

_No, thank you._ Sam didn’t want to examine the source of his amusement too closely, not when a suspicion was forming… oh yeah. Not touching that with a ten foot pole.

‘Ma’am, I’m sorry but Daniel says I’m to escort you to the gate.’ The Sergeant looked very uncomfortable.

‘Ah, he believes I’m not myself,’ said Ba’al, which the Sergeant confirmed with a vaguely guilty look. ‘I attempted to open the door for him, and instead triggered a lockdown.’

_You’re talking like you, this guy will never believe you._

_/I wouldn’t be so sure; I have found most Tau’ri to be unbearably dense. Regardless, I do not require him to believe me, seeing as the Chappa’ai is where I was headed./_

_Why do you do that?_ Sam asked curiously and Ba’al started to rifle through her thoughts to figure out what she was on about. _Mix Goa’uld words in with your English._

_/It is called a Chappa’ai, so that is the word I use./_ Ba’al replied, ever helpful.

‘All the same ma’am…’ the sergeant said.

‘I’ll come back to the ch-‘ Ba’al coughed. ‘The Stargate with you, Sergeant. It’s been a long few weeks and I’ll be glad to see the SGC again.’

_/That was your fault./_

‘Oh.’ The Sergeant had clearly been expecting more resistance. ‘After you, ma’am.’

Ba’al walked ahead of him, sifting through her mind to figure out how many SGC personnel were likely to be at the gate… and the most efficient way of taking them down

_Don’t you dare kill anyone._ Sam waited for an answer but got nothing. _Ba’al, don’t hurt my people. At least one of them will have a zat, you can take that, and single shots only. Ba’al? You better be listening to me._

_/I will get a zat’nik’tel, if it is possible./_

_If Daniel’s there you won’t get the chance, you shouldn’t have made it so obvious it wasn’t me._

Ba’al sighed internally. / _I am aware of that, but he had already noticed./_

They walked in silence through the dense forest until the gate came into view, guarded by a single SG-team. Not SG-1, and Sam was irrationally disappointed about that. God, she wanted to see her team again.

‘Colonel Carter says she is still, uh, Colonel Carter,’ announced the Sergeant behind her. ‘She’s been pretty cooperative.’

‘Of course I have,’ Ba’al said. ‘I’ve been locked in that place for weeks; I can’t tell you how glad I was to see Daniel at that door. I’ve lost my GDO so I thought I’d be going home via the Alpha Site.’

To Sam’s growing annoyance, the term – SG-5 – looked fairly convinced by Ba’al’s explanation, even though it _made no sense_. Ba’al walked straight up to the DHD, but Lieutenant Harding stepped in.

‘Sorry, Colonel, I’ll have to dial us out. Dr Jackson orders were to place you under arrest, so I can’t really let you…’ He trailed off, looking apologetic.

‘No problem, lieutenant,’ said Ba’al smoothly, stepping back again from the DHD… positioning himself so Harding had to walk right next to him to reach it.

The procedure was terrible. Really, Sam was going to have a thing or ten to say about _that_. Just because most of the Goa’uld were gone was no reason to drop their guard this badly, particularly not after Daniel had given them a warning. Ba’al waited until they were side by side and then lashed out, putting all of her weight behind the blow, and the lieutenant went down like a sack of potatoes.

Ba’al took full advantage of the situation, snatching the man’s zat before he’d even hit the ground and pivoting to stun the Sergeant.

‘Colonel, _stand down_!’ The other two members came barrelling towards her, one drawing her own zat.

Ba’al stunned her first, anticipating that the man armed only with the P90 would hesitate to shoot her. He hesitated, but not long enough and fired a single shot which slammed into her leg with fiery pain. In normal circumstances, a shot to the leg would have been a pretty effective way of disabling her, but Ba’al didn’t even blink. He lifted the zat and hit the last remaining SG-5 member, and kept the zat raised.

Sam could feel his vague annoyance at being shot even as he healed the wound. _Don’t shoot him a second time; he was only doing his job._

_/Sentiment./_ Ba’al shook her head and moved back to the DHD, rapidly punching in an address she didn’t recognise.

‘Stop, or I _will_ shoot you.’ Daniel’s voice came from behind them.

Ba’al spun around, ready to fire, and realised that Cam was there as well and they both had zats trained on her. He opened her mouth, and Sam could feel a dozen different excuses at the ready.

_We’re surrounded by unconscious SGC personnel; there really is nothing you can say._

‘Drop it,’ said Cam, keeping his own weapon trained. ‘And step away from it and the DHD.’

Ba’al paused, and let the zat fall to the ground. He took two steps away; confident he could dive over and retrieve the weapon is necessary.

‘So,’ said Daniel, maintaining a safe distance, ‘who are you?’

Ba’al decided it would be a very poor decision to answer that truthfully. ‘There is a planet I must go to that will allow you to have your colonel back.’

_/And that wasn’t even a lie, are you proud of me?/_

_Proud? No, not really._

_/Impressed then?/_

Sam wished she could roll her eyes. _Ba’al…_

‘Yeah, not gonna happen.’ Cam was moving around her, getting between her and the stargate, just in case. ‘Also you didn’t answer the question.’

‘Daniel! Did you find…’ Vala came skidding to a halt, closely followed by Teal’c. ‘Oh, you did. Is it really not Sam?’

‘Really not, no,’ Daniel confirmed, his eyes never leaving Ba’al.

_/Ah. I think we are just about to be unmasked./_ Ba’al made the comment as Vala stepped forward, her mouth opening in surprise.

‘Ooh, no. _Definitely_ not Sam.’

‘Vala?’ Daniel frowned. ‘What’s up?’

_‘_ Qetesh,’ Ba’al greeted, offering her a smirk. ‘We always seem to meet under such… unfortunate circumstances.’

_Vala. Her name is Vala,_ Sam insisted, even though Ba’al _knew_ that. And despite his words, Sam could sense a low key resentment for Vala. It took a moment for her to find the reason. _You liked Qetesh._

_/Liked… is not quite accurate. She was interesting, far more intelligent than others of our kind./_

Sam was certain. _You liked her._

Ba’al was silent for a moment. _/Yes. I did./_

_Oh my god._ The sympathy that just begun to form popped. Ba’al and Qetesh had been _rivals_ , thousands, maybe millions had died, humans and Jaffa. Maybe minor Goa’uld as well. _Is that foreplay for you?_

Mirth rippled through Ba’al. _/I suppose it was./_

If she’d had control of her body, Sam thought she would have vomited.

‘Oh tell me you’re kidding,’ said Cam, snapping Sam’s – and Ba’al’s – attention back to the situation at hand.

‘Ba’al.’ Teal’c’s observation was spat out with the disdain he always reserved for the Goa’uld.

‘Teal’c.’

Ba’al’s mind held a remarkable lack of hostility towards someone who was famous for being a shol’va to the Goa’uld.

_/He did not betray_ me _/_ Ba’al said.

_No, he just helped lead a rebellion that undermined your power. Doesn’t that bother you?_

_/The loss of power? Certainly. But power can always be regained. The rebellion moved fast because dissent was prevalent among his people, it could have been prevented if we had anticipated it./_

_Sure it could have._

Ba’al was odd, Sam decided, she wished she could see more of his mind.

_/I’m not sure that you would like it if I granted that wish./_

_Are you likely to?_ Sam demanded.

_/No./_

‘Okay, then. _Ba’al_.’ Cam moved around him. ‘Hands on your head, turn your back to me.’

Ba’al complied, but Sam could feel something forming at the back of his mind. Something petty... Cam started to check her for weapons, frisking her briskly, and, as he straightened again, Sam understood.

_Don’t-_

Her protest came too late – and was probably futile anyway- and her elbow connected with Cam’s face. Satisfaction radiated from Ba’al even as the blast from Daniel’s zat hit them.

_________________________


	4. Chapter 4

When Sam woke up in the isolation room, she was already up and pacing around. Confusion reigned and she tried to flail out and catch hold of something to break her inevitable fall.

_/Stop it./_

Of course. Sam winced internally; still a host. What she wouldn’t give just to be able to _move._

_/We_ are _moving./_

_Not by my choice, and that’s a big difference._ Sam wondered how long Ba’al had been awake. _Have you spoken to anyone yet?_

_/I have not./_ Ba’al lifted his eyes to the security camera, then sat down at the table. _/They are probably arguing over what to do./_

_Or just arranging to take us to the Tok’ra._ Her mental tone came across as snide, but Sam wasn’t willing to take it back.

Ba’al was silent for a moment, and Sam would never learn whether he would have replied, because the door to the isolation room swung open and her team stepped in. Daniel took the seat, with Cam and Vala standing on either side of him. Teal’c stayed just inside the door. Sam noticed the bruise developing on Cam’s left cheekbone.

‘So.’ Cam glared at her. ‘Let me make this clear; you won’t be keeping Sam as a host. We’re taking you to the Tok’ra.’

‘Hmm.’ Ba’al tilted her head to one side. ‘Then why have you even bothered turning up? Or perhaps you are my escort, although why you would have come unarmed…?’

‘Oh, don’t get your hopes up.’ That was Daniel, his blue eyes intent on her face. ‘The NID wanted to see if you had anything useful to say.’

‘See, the thing about that is,’ Cam leaned forward, ‘we just need to show we’ve been in here to satisfy them. We don’t actually need anything from you.’

‘I disagree.’ Ba’al smirked. ‘I was under the impression that you wanted Colonel Carter back.’

_Are you threatening me?_

_/No, I am merely stating the facts, Samantha./_

Daniel shrugged. ‘We don’t need your cooperation for that.’

‘Not… technically, but I could make it easier on her.’ Ba’al smiled again. ‘Were I to voluntarily switch hosts, it is far easier on the current host than the Tok’ra extraction process.’

‘No no, see, we are _not_ finding you a host.’ Cam wagged a finger in her face, Ba’al found it extremely annoying. ‘And we’re _definitely_ not letting you loose to choose your own.’

‘Which he knows,’ Vala observed, eyeing Ba’al. ‘So, what are you suggesting?’

Ba’al grinned at her and Sam felt him gather his thoughts as he launched into an explanation of the cloning facility they’d found him at. It was still in lock down, of course, but since he knew the secret escape route, he could get them back in. Predictably, his explanation wasn’t received well, so Ba’al invited them to check it out for themselves.

‘You’re still not getting it,’ Cam said, shaking his head. ‘What you’re talking about would delay getting you out of Sam’s head, _and_ then we’d just have to shoot you anyway.’

‘Basically,’ Daniel took over, ‘what’s the point?’

Ba’al laced her fingers together on the table, propping her chin up on her hands. ‘Making things easy on Colonel Carter is clearly not your priority. She’s quite insulted by that.’

_I am not. I’d do the same in their position and you know it._

_/Ah, but they can never be certain of that./_

Sam fumed. _You’re a bastard, you know that, right?_

‘Still,’ Ba’al said to Cam, ‘I do understand you wanting further incentive, after all, she is just a female.’

_I am going to_ kill _you._

Or just punch him in his smug smirking…

_/If they allow me to take another host I will gladly take a punch from you. I am sure it would be quite-/_

_Don’t finish that thought, I don’t want to know._

‘That’s it.’ Daniel stood up and looked at Cam. ‘I’m going to go meet Jack, he should be just arriving. You okay handling the NIDs timed talk?’

‘Sure, no problem.’ Cam spoke to Daniel, but he didn’t look away from Sam and Ba’al.

As Daniel got up and headed for door, Vala backed off after him. ‘I’ll go with Daniel.’

_Jack’s coming here?_ Sam felt considerably better at the prospect.

_/O’Neill. Fantastic./_

‘Guess it’s just you and me,’ Cam commented, taking Daniel’s seat.

‘And Teal’c,’ said Ba’al facetiously, at the same moment Teal’c said; ‘I am also here Colonel Mitchell.’

Ba’al’s smug smile crept over her face as Teal’c’s expression darkened.

Cam looked between them. ‘Well. I stand corrected.’

‘As I was saying, I have much I could offer your SGC.’ Ba’al looked intently at Cam. ‘Although I am not sure you are the correct person to fully comprehend that.’

_You know,_ Sam sighed, _they might actually listen if you didn’t spend every second sentence insulting us._

_/And do you want them to listen, Samantha?/_

_That depends what you’re offering._ As soon as she’d thought it, Sam knew her wording choice was a mistake and the reaction uncurling from Ba’al’s mind quickly confirmed that.

_/I could offer_ you _plenty, my dear./_

‘I’ll try my best,’ Cam promised, and to his credit he managed not to look insulted.

‘Information,’ Ba’al said, sitting back in his chair. ‘Goa’uld technology, Ancient technology, perhaps even Asgard technology as Anubis had plenty of _that_ lying around. I know more about it than your race can ever hope to understand, and I could share that knowledge with you.’

‘Sure, you _could_ , but you wouldn’t.’

‘Actually, I would.’ Ba’al shrugged. ‘The Goa’uld empire has fallen, I have no particular place to be and your planet, while still primitive, is more technologically advanced than most. There will still be threats out in this galaxy of ours and would you not like to be capable of building… personal shields for example.’

Sam was surprised to note the sincerity behind his words. For all his lying, cheating and general deceiving Ba’al was actually serious about what he was offering. It was, frankly, unbelievable and had she not been able to _feel_ the truth in his statements (if he hadn’t been teaching her about the time dilatation field for the past week)…

Her reaction was immediately picked up by Ba’al and he cut off mid argument. _/They are never going to believe me./_

_Not completely, but that doesn’t mean there’s no chance. They won’t_ all _have the same opinions as me._

_/No/_ Ba’al remarked wryly. _/I always found you to be the most reasonable./_

_I’ll take that as a complement._

_/So you should. You would make an extremely poor scientist if you were totally incapable of keeping an open mind./_

_Open mind or not, Ba’al, they know we could never trust you._

As honest as Ba’al was being at that moment, trust could never come into it. He would betray them in a heartbeat, if he felt it would benefit him. That didn’t mean it would be impossible to work with him; she’d done it before, twice and each time she’d gained a little more understanding from the work. To have him working through the technologies… well, particularly the Goa’uld stuff they’d collected, since it was his own technology, they amount of things they could learn!

And, he was right, the idea of not just scavenging, but _building_ some of the more advanced things, was something she could get behind. The potential was there, but, from the look on Cam’s face, the actuality was beyond her. The phase; like beating her head against a brick wall sprung to mind. Ba’al was right; he wasn’t going to convince anyone.

That brought another problem. If he failed, then he would die. Sam liked to think that her reluctance to let that happen was just because of watching his offer slip through her hands, except… killing someone in the heat of battle was one thing. Executing someone when there was another option was a completely different matter.

Even if that someone was a murderer himself.

Without warning Sam dropped from the chair like a puppet with her strings cut. She hit the floor shoulder first and it hurt in a way that was part physical pain and part annoyance. Why…? She moved to push herself back up… and froze.

She _moved_.

Ba’al had ceded control.

‘What are…’ Sam winced as Cam, who’d made to go across the room to her and then stopped, gave her a strange look. _What are you doing?_

_/Giving you a chance to convince your Tau’ri friends. Attempt to say anything I do not like and I will take control again before it is out of your pretty mouth, understand?/_

_And_ that _is why they’re not going to listen to me!_

Sam took a deep breath, climbing a little shakily back on to the chair. ‘Cam?’

He grimaced. ‘Oh here we go. Let me guess, it’s Sam talking now? Jackson thought you might try this.’

_/Closed minded Tau’ri./_

_Oh, come on. Have you_ ever _let your host have control before?_

Ba’al didn’t reply to that, he didn’t need to; Sam could feel his discomfort at taking a backseat.

‘It _is_ me, Cam.’ Sam paused, trying to come up with something that would convince him.

‘And let me guess,’ Cam folded his arms, ‘Ba’al’s telling us the truth.’

Sam snorted. ‘Ba’al never tells the truth.’

_/Thank you./_

_You’re welcome._

‘We’d never be able to trust him even if we did accept his offer,’ Sam continued, even though she could see Cam wasn’t listening to a word of it, ‘ _but_ , he could actually be an asset in-‘

‘I’m going to stop you right there.’ Cam moved towards the door. ‘Clearly you’ve run out of wildly improbable offers, so now it’s _my_ job to go contact the Tok’ra.’

_/Your attempts at convincing him were nothing short of pathetic, might I remind you how unpleasant extraction is for the host?/_

‘Cam, _wait!’_ Sam got up from her chair. ‘Go speak with Vala, see what she says. If there’s another way of doing this… I’d really rather take it.’

‘Yeah.’ Cam snorted. ‘I know you would.’

The isolation room door closed in her face.

Sam started pacing up and down. Chances were, the Tok’ra had already been contacted, they probably had been the minute they stepped through the gate to the SGC. Ba’al had never really had a shot at persuading them to take another option, not with his background.

_You know, if you hadn’t spent your life enslaving and killing people you might have had a chance. There’s karma for you._

_/I promise you, had I known the entire Goa’uld empire would fall, I would have made an effort to be a far more benign God. Perhaps with less enslaving./_

_Only_ less _enslaving?_

_/Absolutely. Where’s the fun in being a God if you can’t exercise some power?/_

Sam snorted. _Enslaving people shouldn’t be fun, Ba’al._

_/Being worshiped is…/_ Ba’al gave an internal sigh, _/but I can see those days are over and I am willing to adapt. It is your people who are too inflexible to understand that I don’t need to be your enemy./_

_Oh please. Don’t put this on us, you’ve still got centuries of crimes to answer for._

Ba’al smoothly retook control, even as Sam tried to hang on. He walked her over to the table and leaned casually on it.

_/And apparently that is exactly what is going to happen./_

_______________________

The new Tok’ra home world was hot and dusty.

Ba’al was silent as they were marched into a large open room, but Sam could sense an intense focus. A focus that made more sense when she realised it was aimed at the contraption on the far side of the room; it could only be one thing.

Sam wanted to look away from it, but Ba’al didn’t move her head. She had recognised the stillness in his mind as resignation; he was going to die, and he knew it. For a crazy moment Sam almost asked him to let her have another try, to _make_ them understand it was her, and that extraction wasn’t the way to go. Ba’al could and, maybe more importantly, _would_ help them.

It was no use though, she _knew_ that. They wouldn’t believe her, they’d be angry and desperate to free her, like she would be if the roles were reversed; convinced that Ba’al deserved what he got. Which he did, really. He killed millions (maybe more) and she’d _felt_ his total lack of remorse. So he did deserve it. Didn’t he?

_/By your standards, perhaps./_

Sam winced and fought the urge to apologise… which was pointless, because he knew she was doing it.

‘Ba'al,’ said a male Tok’ra, ‘last of the Goa'uld System Lords, murderer of untold millions, these will be your last words. Speak.’

‘I have nothing to say to the Tok’ra,’ Ba’al said, his mind remaining still and focused, while he managed to impart a subtle disdain into the word _Tok’ra._

Sam could see her team waiting near the extraction equipment, and along with them two men Sam recognised as from the NID. Well, the NID had had an interest in talking with the Tok’ra for a while; they’d thought the Tok’ra might have a way for them to track down any final Goa’uld on Earth. Sam supposed they’d jumped at the chance to travel to the new Tok’ra homeworld, even under the circumstances.

Ba’al raised her eyebrows at SG-1 as he approached, flanked by Tok’ra guards. ‘SG-1 and General Jack O’Neill.’

Jack’s eyes stared at her with a cold anger as he turned to the Tok’ra. ‘Can we get this done?’

‘And I thought I was being granted _last words_.’ Ba’al tsked at him. ‘Worried something might happen in the meantime? Perhaps to Colonel Carter?’

It was a clear threat on her life; an empty threat as it happened. Sam didn’t have clear access to Ba’al’s mind, or even his thought processes, but she could feel that was an absolute certainty. He’d meant it when he said he didn’t intend to hurt her.

Jack was practically shaking with what Sam assumed was the urge to strangle the life out of her.

_/Not you; me. Do you think I touched a nerve?/_

‘Someone get this _snake_ out of Carter!’ Jack hollered at the Tok’ra.

A flicker of amusement rose up from Ba’al, but then the Tok’ra move to escort him across the room and he grimaced internally.

They were led across the room and right at the edge of her hearing Sam caught Vala whisper, ‘Watch him try and make a run for it.’

The thing was, Ba’al had no intention of making a run for it. He ignored Vala’s comment and his gaze remained steady. Sam liked to think she’d face death with a similar composure.

The Tok’ra guards grabbed hold of her shoulders and pressed her back up against a vertical platform, strapping her to it.

Ba’al looked at the long needle directed at her forehead. _/The Tok’ra do like things basic, don’t they? You would have thought they could make their technologies with more… style./_

_I think they avoided style on purpose,_ Sam told him, her attention also dominated by the needle. Her heart was pounding and she didn’t know whether it was her or Ba’al causing it. Maybe both. _Isn’t it grand enough for you?_

_/Of course not. This should be a massive event; I_ am _a System Lord./_

‘Begin the extraction process!’ One of the Tok’ra said, and the needle began to move smoothly down its track towards them. As it approached a laser beam shot out.

The laser hit the centre of her forehead and Sam could feel the effects immediately; an uncomfortable buzz that shuddered through her, converging at the back of her neck.

_/I would have enjoyed working with you, Samantha/_ said Ba’al, as the needle point dug in and the pain started.

Fire. She was on fire, her _mind_ was on fire… or was that Ba’al’s mind? The distinction wasn’t clear, nothing was clear, she was consumed by it, she was screaming. No, he was screaming, in the flange of the symbiote, but she was screaming as well. _They_ were screaming.

_The host is supposed to survive,_ Sam thought wildly. _I’m not going to survive this._

There was no way she was going to live; she’d survived millennia, but she would not survive this. It was only hazily that she was able to note that she _hadn’t_ survived millennia. She could _feel_ the thousands of years behind her, though, could feel Ba’al’s mind and experiences stretching back, more than she could ever hope to comprehend.

Memories assaulted her, in pictures and sensations. Death, destruction, fear, (hope), hatred, (compassion), amusement, (despair), pride, (joy).

The fire storm swamping her mind felt like it would continue, on and on for an eternity. It couldn’t, it _wouldn’t_ ; she’d seen the extraction process, but maybe something had gone wrong. Surely it wasn’t meant to hurt that much, surely she was just supposed to feel her own pain and not Ba’al’s as well.

Then it was gone.

She was herself again and the fire was receding, slowly, oh so slowly, the pain became bearable and her screams (only _her_ screams) tailed off into the echoing room.

The silence hit her like a physical blow and it was that, more than the pain, that made her consciousness slide away into darkness.

______________________

Sam woke gradually, sounds around her arrived as if through a filter. It was almost like she was floating and it took a moment for Sam to recognise that she was lying flat on her back. Dulled senses; she’d experienced something like it before.

_Ba’al,_ Sam snapped internally, _stop it._

It was only when she didn’t get a response that Sam remembered.

‘Ba’al!’ she said again, bolting upright, her senses returning to normal as complete wakefulness arrived with a jolt.

‘Whoa, Sam.’ Daniel caught her as she nearly tipped over the side of the bed. ‘Hey, it’s okay; he’s gone.’

_Oh god._

‘He wasn’t lying to you.’ Sam tripped over her words in an effort to get them out quickly. But she was too late. She’d passed out and now it was far too late. ‘He meant it; he would have helped us, he was going to let me go.’

Silence descended in the room, a silence so absolute that Sam had the urge to say something just to fill it. Why was it so _quiet_? Had it always been that quiet? She opened her mouth… then closed it as she saw past Daniel to where the rest of SG-1 stood, watching her. The rest of SG-1, and Jack O’Neill.

They all looked so _shocked._ Except Vala, there was, if not total understanding, then at least sympathy on her face.

‘Are you defending the snake?’ Jack demanded, in disgusted disbelief. ‘He deserved to die, Carter.’

As if she didn’t know that better than anyone.

‘Not like that,’ she snapped, her tone actually making him flinch. No one deserved to die like that. She turned to Vala. ‘Why didn’t you stop them, when you knew there was another way?’

Vala opened her mouth but Jack got in first.

‘Jesus, Carter, it was _Ba’al._ ’ The look in Jack’s eyes would have made her look away just a few years ago, now she held his gaze. ‘He deserved it,’ Jack repeated, and the door slammed on his way out.

Daniel still had his arm around her shoulder. ‘She tried to stop it, Sam. Vala thought we should at least give the whole clone idea a shot.'

Vala came over and sat on the bed. ‘Extraction is…’

‘Painful,’ Sam muttered, lowering her eyes. Daniel’s arm tightened around her. ‘He was serious about helping us,’ she repeated. ‘He was…’

She stopped talking; her eyes felt hot and a traitorous tear slid down her face. She was crying over _Ba’al._ He would have been so smug to see this aftermath, so damn satisfied to see that effect.

Daniel pulled her into a full hug, wrapping his arms around her as her tears fell. Oh God. What they must think of her…

‘I’m sorry,’ she sobbed into her shirt. ‘I know what he was. I _know_ … It’s just…’

‘We do not get to choose who we mourn, Colonel Carter.’ Teal’c was standing next to the bed and Sam had never been so grateful in her life.

Cam shifted uncomfortably. ‘We can stay here for a while if you want, you don’t have to go straight to back to Earth.’

He meant well, Sam knew that. It was going to be a long debrief, and she wasn’t looking forward to it, in fact, she dreaded the idea enough that she almost took him up on the offer. Except. The idea of staying where she was (with the _Tok’ra_ ) made her feel sick.

It never had before. In fact, Sam had found herself feeling way more at home around the Tok’ra than the other members of her team. Because of Jolinar. Because Jolinar’s memories had stayed even after Jolinar was dead, even when she’d only been host to Jolinar for a very short time.

And now…

She shook her head. ‘I don’t want to stay here.’

‘You sure?’ Cam asked, ‘because-‘ He cut off and Sam realised he’d exchanged a look with Vala.

Vala would understand, Sam knew. She had a feeling Vala understood better than even she did; they’d been something in the extraction process, something she couldn’t remember past the pain. Sam shook her head to clear it. Maybe it was better she didn’t remember.

‘Okay, Sam.’ Daniel rubbed her back. ‘Let’s go home.’

__________________________


End file.
